


stay with me

by mssjynx



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Character Death, Love, M/M, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-23 06:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18148577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mssjynx/pseuds/mssjynx
Summary: "kiss it all betteri'm not ready to goit's not your fault, loveyou didn't know"





	stay with me

The gunshot split the night in half. The sounds that followed were muted, dulled, in comparison: the gun clattering to the ground, the pitter-patter of the light rain around them, fleeing footsteps fading into the night. 

He didn’t notice any of it. He didn’t notice the ringing in his ears. 

No. 

Soft eyes. They glimmered behind a layer of stunned shock. Tyler was frozen still, watching the love of his life take an unsteady step back, watching shaking hands raise to the bullet hole in his stomach, watching three tears join the raindrops slipping down Craig’s cheeks. 

Those pretty eyes pulled away from Tyler’s, dropping to where his hands hovered above the wound, unsure whether to touch it at all. “T- Tyler, I-” Choked words. Cut off. Two unsteady steps towards Tyler before he was falling. 

And Hell be damned if Tyler would let that man fall to the puddles of red-tinted water beneath him. He caught him, arms looped beneath him. But he had no energy left to hold him up, instead sinking to his knees, not caring for the water that soaked his pants. “No, no, no,” he murmured, heartbeat racing in his ears as he tore his sleeve off and scrunched it up, pressing it to the open wound which painted Craig’s shirt red. “Fuck, Craig, hold- hold on, I’ve gotta- I’ll call someone, I’ll get you- out of here. Wa- wait-”

“Tyler.” He had never heard Craig’s voice sound so gentle, a slow hand resting atop Tyler’s wrist before it could reach for the drenched duffle bag. Never had he seen those eyes so soft, parted lips wearing blood like smudged lipstick. “I-...” He couldn’t say it but Tyler knew. 

There was no time.

Craig was dying. 

“I can’t- I have to-” A sob broke through Tyler’s words as he curled his arm tighter around Craig’s back, his other hand lifting away from the wound that would never heal to rest against the side of Craig’s face. “I love you.” And what more could be said to the love of his life, dying in his arms. 

A weak sob, gasping chest, air that wouldn’t keep him alive for much longer as the blood drained from his body. “Kiss it all better,” he whispered, four words stronger than any he’d ever spoken. Tyler didn’t hesitate. He pressed his lips to Craig’s, hating the taste of blood, hating the low temperature, hating how they shivered. Loving him. Loving him for as long as he could.

When he drew back, Craig’s head rolled to rest against his chest, eyes closing and face crumpling. He was dying.

“I’m not… ready to go.” His eyes squeezed shut tighter, pushing the tears out to fall down his face. A slight shake of the head. “I’m not- I’m-... I’m only twenty-three. I haven’t-”

Tyler’s rested his forehead against Craig’s, his own body shaking with sobs. He found his hand, linking their fingers and only crying harder at how cold his hand was. Too cold. “I’m sorry.” A tear of his own dropped to Craig’s cheek. “I’m so  _ fucking _ sorry. It shouldn’t have been you, it should have been anyone but you. I’m so- I’m so sorry. I love you. I’m sorry.” 

Words tumbled, falling like flower petals. The simple act of lifting Craig’s hand to Tyler’s cheek looked exhausting. “It’s not your fault, love,” he breathed out, his words like clouds. “You didn’t know he had…” Clouds dissipated. Eyes rested shut, losing strength, losing life. 

_ “You didn’t know he had a gun.”  _ And the simple mentioning of it was enough to spark fire in Tyler’s chest. Anger. Rage. 

He wouldn’t let this guy get away with this. He wouldn’t let this man murder his love without suffering the exact same fate. 

He would kill him. 

“Tyler.” Weak. Weaker. “Tyler, I don’t wanna die.” 

The rain surrounded them like a curtain, blocking them off from the rest of the world as Tyler leaned down and pressed his lips heavy above Craig’s brow. “I know. I know. Everything- Everything will be alright. I promise, you’ll be alright.” Words murmured between kisses that Tyler pressed to his cheeks, eyelids and lips. “I love you.” 

Eyes opened just barely. His hand fell away from Tyler’s face, resting against his upper arm and tightening. “Stay with me,” he whispered. Tyler had to stay close enough to hear him. “Stay with me until I… fall asleep.” Tyler kissed him again, feeling tears after tears stream down his cheeks. “Stay with me,” he murmured against Tyler’s lips. 

“I love you,” Tyler promised. “I will. I love you. I love you so much.” 

The slightest twitch at the corner of Craig’s lips. A grimace of pain. Perhaps a sad smile, a smile of acceptance, of love, of goodbye. His pale eyes closed for a final time. “I love you.” His last three words drifted out on his heavy exhale, his dying breath. 

The love of Tyler’s life died in his arms. 


End file.
